Mountain high: How Alto Adige became Italy's white-wine star at DWWA 2026

Home to the striking sawtoothed Dolomites, the semi-autonomous provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol are traditionally known for luring hikers and holidaymakers. Yet at 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), Alto Adige – South Tyrol, the mountainous northern half of Trentino-Alto Adige – did something no other Italian wine area managed. It won nine Platinums, every single one for a white wine. That is more than Tuscany, more than Piedmont and more than any of the country’s grander, warmer names could claim at that level.

It is no accident. As summers lengthen and temperatures rise (the recent European heat dome testament to this new reality), altitude has become one of the most valuable things a vineyard can own. Up here, where the finest sites sit hundreds of metres above the valley floor, warm days are followed by cold nights and that daily diurnal swing is what locks freshness, perfume and racy acidity into the fruit.

Built on quartz

With Alto Adige receiving nine Platinums, an unprecedented five went to Cantina Terlano, which enjoyed a clean sweep of styles from age-worthy Pinot Bianco to its flagship blends.

Its secret lies in the ground. ‘It all starts with our unique quartz porphyry soils, which contain 60 to 65% silica,’ explains Martina Tammerle of Terlano’s sales and marketing team. ‘These soils, being poor in nutrients, naturally keep yields low and give our wines minerality, freshness and outstanding ageing potential.’ That same quartz lends its name to one of the year’s Platinum whites, Cantina Terlano’s Quarz Sauvignon, while the ageing potential is no idle boast: among the winning wines was Cantina Terlano’s Rarity 2013, a Pinot Bianco released only after more than a decade in the cellar and judged ‘so youthful despite its age.’

Tammerle credits the people as much as the place, noting that since 1999 winemaker Rudi Kofler has guided every wine with a clear focus on expressing its terroir. And she credits the wider South Tyrolean climate, where vineyards climb ‘from the valley slopes to higher mountain sites’ that ‘enjoy warm days and cool nights, creating wines with freshness, elegance and complexity.’ The result, she says, is recognition not only for Terlano but for South Tyrol as a whole, proof that the region ‘can confidently compete with the great white wine regions of the world.’

Kerner, a regional identity

Perhaps the most singular result came from one of the region’s smallest and highest corners. In the Valle Isarco, the narrow valley that climbs north-east towards the Austrian border, Cantina Valle Isarco won the first Platinum ever awarded to a varietal Kerner, for its Aristos Kerner 2024. Kerner is a grape few drinkers outside these valleys will have tasted, yet here it has become something of an emblem.

‘Our Aristos Kerner comes from steep hillside vineyards at elevations between 850 and 950 metres above sea level,’ says managing director Armin Gratl. In this small mountain valley, he adds, Kerner has become ‘part of our identity’, a variety that ‘reflects our alpine environment better than almost any other grape: precise, vibrant, mineral and full of energy.’ The judges found precisely that, praising the wine’s ‘arrow-like precision’ and its ‘breath of pure fresh mountain air.’

For Gratl, the medal is also a chance to show that Kerner deserves to be discovered beyond its aromatic profile.

A swish of freshness

At Cantina Tramin, in the village of Tramin – Termeno in Italian – the link between grape and place is written into the name itself: Gewürztraminer means, in effect, the spicy or aromatic Traminer, the grape of Tramin. Here, Platinum went to Tramin’s Stoan 2024, a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer first conceived 25 years ago to capture everything the area can do.

‘It brings together the key grape varieties of our area and reflects the meeting of Mediterranean warmth and Alpine freshness that defines our unique microclimate,’ says Günther Facchinelli of Cantina Tramin. That duality – warmth and cool, ripeness and tension – runs right through the region’s success. The wine takes its name from the local word for stone, a nod to the gravelly, rocky soils its four varieties share and the judges caught the mountains in the glass, describing ‘a swish of mountain breeze freshness’ carrying the finish.

The same story played out across estates large and small. Prackfol, a boutique grower, earned Platinum for its Sandl 2020, a polished, mature Pinot Bianco that proves the mountains here reward the patient and the meticulous, whatever their size.

A reputation on the rise

If there is a feeling that Alto Adige is only now getting its due on the world stage, its producers sense it too. At Girlan, the Curlan Chardonnay Riserva 2022 took Platinum from vineyards at around 500 metres on volcanic porphyry, a combination sales director Marc Pfitscher says gives the wine ‘a unique tension’, marrying ‘vibrant acidity with remarkable depth and concentration.’

He reads this year’s results as a sign of something larger. ‘I am convinced that Alto Adige has the potential to build an even stronger international reputation for precisely these kinds of distinctive wines,’ he says. The challenge now, in his words, is consistency: ‘By continuing to deliver wines of character and quality over time, we can strengthen our credibility and earn lasting recognition among international consumers.’

On the evidence of 2026, that recognition is already arriving. Nine Platinums, all of them white, all of them grown in Alto Adige. In a warming world, it seems the cool high ground is coming into its own.

DWWA 2026: Top-scoring Alto Adige wines

Cantina Terlano, Quarz Sauvignon 2024
Platinum, 97 points
An exceptional pedigree, displaying amazing energy and tension. Kiwi, passionfruit and fresh herbs sink into the silky oak structure, with sprinklings of lemon and lime over the vibrant acidity. Smoky, savoury notes persist at the end. Alcohol 14%

Cantina Terlano, Rarity 2013
Platinum, 97 points
A totally unique experience, so youthful despite its age. Acacia flowers, fennel fronds, red apples and smoked nuts tumble over the nose and honeyed, waxy palate. Captivating almond bitters add texture and leafy herbs add zest. Alc 14%

Cantina Terlano, Terlaner I Primo Grande Cuvée 2023
Platinum, 97 points
An overwhelming intensity of fresh flowers and herbs intertwined with yellow stone and tropical fruits; each component judiciously layered with sumptuous nurturing oak. Gloriously full with taut acidity and a fabulous lime peel finish. A masterpiece. Alc 14%

Cantina Tramin, Stoan 2024
Platinum, 97 points
Flamboyant florals and herbaceous aromatics lead the charge with an undercurrent of succulent peaches and Mirabelle plums. Generous and fleshy with precise acidity and a swish of mountain breeze freshness soaring towards the harmonious length. Alc 13.5%

Cantina Valle Isarco, Aristos Kerner 2024
Platinum, 97 points
Arrow-like precision, a breath of pure fresh mountain air with real chalky complexity. Subtle florals, walnuts and flaked almonds waft under the nose, with balsamic nuances bringing viscosity and depth. Long and charismatic with lemony length. Alc 14%

Girlan, Curlan Chardonnay Riserva 2022
Platinum, 97 points
A magisterial presence, oozing gloss and flair, pure world-class talent. Lustrous mango, papaya and white melon tropics glide across the praline and hazelnut cream, whipped into shape by the endless grapefruit acidity that swirls and endures. Alc 14.5%

Prackfol, Sandl 2020
Platinum, 97 points
Alluring Alpine herbs and dried fruits gather against a backdrop of sweet tobacco and smoky oak. Broad and leading with a caressing texture, bright acidity and flinty edge to the long, saline finish. Polished and mature. Alc 14%

St. Michael-Eppan, Appius 2021
Gold, 96 points
Assertive notes of honeyed peach, salted caramel and twists of lime and mango display simultaneous complexity and freshness. Creamy, yet tense with a strong mineral finish. Alc 14%

Andrian, Andrius Sauvignon Blanc 2024
Gold, 95 points
Terroir-driven magnificence, displaying passionfruit, lime and lemon peel aromas over an ample oak core. The lovely textural depth is encircled by redeeming acidity. Exciting and long. Alc 14%

Elena Walch, Beyond the Clouds 2023
Gold, 95 points
A marvel of sophistication and enigma, surrounding itself with honeyed nuts, peaches, lemon tart and fine florals that whisk over the rich texture and crunchy acidity.
Alc 13.5%

Giovanni Poli, Vino Santo 2010
Gold, 95 points
Incredible orange marmalade, walnut, toffee, popcorn and prune aromas imprint on the nose and palate, amplified by a balsamic poise that subsumes the acidity and length. Alc 13%

Gump Hof, Praesulis Weissburgunder 2024
Gold, 95 points
Beaming with personality and character, boasting yellow apples, pears and rapturous floral notes that burst onto the robust oak core. Oaty and creamy with zippy acidity. Alc 13.5%

Kornell, Aichberg 2023
Gold, 95 points
A riveting blend of peaches, melons, salted nuts and fresh herbs broods over the viscous palate, tethered by fervent acidity and a zingy citrus finish. Alc 13%

Kurtatsch, Sonntaler Vernatsch Alte Reben Schiava 2025
Gold, 95 points
Authentic notes of crushed red berries, redcurrants and rose petals with a lick of fresh herbs. Crunchy and mouth-watering with thriving tannins and saline length. Alc 12.5%

Nals Margreid, Nama 2022
Gold, 95 points
An open book, layered with ambrosial orchard fruits, herbs and citrus over a glistening oyster shell freshness. Melt-in-the-mouth oaky richness is countered by bright acidity. Textbook. Alc 14.5%

Seeperle, Arthur Rainer Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Gold, 95 points
Hugely intense with Alpine herbs and flowers, grass and confit citrus leading the way. Fleshy and persistent with a touch of white pepper at the end. Alc 14%

Untermoser Florian Ramoser, Hub & Leith 2024
Gold, 95 points
A frisson of hibiscus, violets and roses dances across the nose and seeps into the zingy red plum and berry succulence. Wonderfully generous and vibrant. Alc 13.5%